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<p>During routine work to add existing records to the store in Diego Garcia, British
Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT) immigration officials noted water damage to a small
number of records, caused by a leaking roof. This is believed to have resulted from
extremely heavy weather in June 2014. Although the extent of the damage was not clear
on initial inspection at the time, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon.
Friend the member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds) on 8 July 2014, Official Report,
column 172W.</p><p>However, since 8 July, BIOT immigration officials have conducted
a fuller inspection, and previously wet paper records have been dried out. They report
that no flight records have been lost as a result of the water damage. A small number
of immigration arrival cards from 2004 have been damaged, but that information about
those flights is still available in the daily occurrence logs and monthly statistics.
These records provide dates of aircraft movements in the Territory, and passenger
and crew numbers.</p><p>Following the incident, all hard copy records from the affected
location are being transferred from the airport to a new location, and will be digitalised
over the coming months.</p>
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